Across The Universe
by DanceFilmMusicAnarchyRent
Summary: A parody of "Across the Universe". Beck travels to America to find who his real father is, but everything changes when he meets Robbie and, through Robbie, Jade.
1. Girl

Beck walked down the streets, kicking a pebble with his feet lightly. He was getting sick of Canada. Sick of not knowing who his father was. Sick of knowing that there was a greater land where his father lived in- Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. And he was going to go there. He was a Navy Seal, and that was his advantage. His dad worked at Hollywood Arts High School, and was someone who apparently worked there. His dad must've been important enough to fall in love with his own mother, who had passed on recently. Beck was living with his girlfriend now, in a tiny brick house off of some crappy cobblestone street. He knew that his father needed to know that his son was alive, and Beck knew that some day, he was going to need his father's help. He wasn't sure how yet, but the day would eventually come. He looked at the tiny house, seeing his girlfriend through the window, sweeping the floors joyfully. Beck sighed.

_"Is there anybody going to listen to my story,"_ he sang, _"All about the girl who came to stay?"_

She put the broom to the side and picked up a cloth. She drenched it in soap, then water, and then began scrubbing the wooden table as hard as she could. Beck smiled at the sight of her trying hard to keep everything perfect.

_"She's the kind of girl you want so much it makes you sorry,"_ he continued.

She dried off the table with a dry rag. She then grabbed the feather duster and began dusting off the cabinets. She had to stand on the tips of her toes to reach some parts of it, but nonetheless finished what she had started.

_"Still, you don't regret a single day."_

She looked out the window and saw Beck watching her.

_"Ah, girl..."_

She waved at him eagerly. He mock-saluted her. She stood up straight and saluted him back.

_"Girl..."_

She blew him a kiss and gave him waved again. He pretended to catch the kiss with his hands and pressed it to his lips. She put her hands over her chest and smiled. He loved that smile on her. Beck would definitely miss her while he was in America; no way could she go with the long hours she was forced to work at one of the local diners.

_"Girl..."_

The front door open and she ran into Beck's arms. He picked her up and spun her around. He hugged her tightly and inhaled the scent of pears in her hair. He put her down and the two exchanged a kiss.

"I'm going to miss those while you're gone," she said quietly. She sniffled and turned away. Beck frowned and turned her head so that she had to face him. She looked up and him and smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it was roughly and sighed.

"We'll have to make these last minutes count," Beck told her. They exchanged a second kiss. "Tonight, we'll have a fancy dinner in here."

"What about going out to the pub to see all of your friends?" she asked him. He smiled.

"We can have a party in our room instead," he said, winking. She laughed.

"I love you, Beck," she whispered in his ear.

"And I love you, Tori," he whispered back before they began kissing again. He picked her up, causing her to squeal in delight. He carried her back into their home and kicked the door shut behind them.


	2. Hold Me Tight

Everyone at the Hollywood Arts Semi-Formal was dancing like there was no tomorrow. Robbie was trying to make a move on some Northridge girls, but was constantly shot down. He was living life now without being a constant ventriloquist, which required putting his dummy, Rex Powers, away for good. Since Rex was the one of the duo able to actually get girls, Robbie was having worse luck than ever. However, Jade was sitting on her boyfriend Daniel's lap, whispering in his ear about random girls who looked horrible in their dresses or hairstyles or makeup. He grinned and pointed out the guys with their guts sticking out far or had large pit stains forming through two shirts. The band began playing another song, which immediately caught Jade's attention. She got up and tugged on Daniel's arm, trying to urge him to get up.

"One last dance!" she begged. "You're leaving tomorrow, and I want this moment to count!"

"Fine," he agreed, standing up and laughing as she dragged him onto the dance floor. They joined hands and began dancing as if they were the only ones in the room. Jade knew the lyrics by heart and couldn't help but sing along to the instrumental band;

_"It feels so right now  
Hold me tight  
Tell me I'm the only one  
And then I might  
Never be the lonely one, so  
Hold  
Me tight  
Tonight, tonight  
It's you  
You, you, you_

_Hold me tight  
Let me go on loving you  
Tonight, tonight  
Making love to only you  
So hold  
Me tight  
Tonight, tonight  
It's you  
You, you, you_

_Don't know what it means to hold you tight  
Being here alone tonight with you  
It feels so right now  
Hold me tight  
Tell me I'm the only one  
And then I might  
Never be the lonely one so  
Hold  
Me tight  
Tonight, tonight  
It's you  
You, you, you_

_Don't know what it means to hold you tight  
Being here alone tonight with you  
It feels so right now  
Hold me tight  
Let me go on loving you  
Tonight, tonight  
Making love to only you  
So hold  
Me tight  
Tonight, tonight  
It's you  
You, you, you."_

* * *

"I'm going to miss you, Daniel," Jade whispered in his ear as she stood in the Asphalt Café. She could see that Robbie was waiting in the car impatiently while she hugged Daniel. Tomorrow, he was off to Vietnam, where he would be serving the country, respectively.

"I'm going to miss you too, Jade," he whispered back. "You know that no matter what, I'll always love you."

Jade smiled a real smile. "I love you too." A car pulled up by them and hoked the horn obnoxiously; Daniel's father. Jade and Daniel kissed for one last time before parting ways. Jade sat in the driver's seat and put on her seatbelt. She started the car, but just sat there with her hands on the wheel, as if she were frozen.

"You can drive now," Robbie teased.

"What if he doesn't come back home?" she asked. "What if he dies over there?"

"If he knows that you'll be waiting for him right here, I don't think he'll let the Vietnamese stop him," Robbie said honestly. Jade smiled at him.

"This is one of the few times when I don't regret having you as a brother," she said sincerely. She reversed the car out of its parking spot and started driving home. Robbie sighed and stared out the window.

"Love you too, sis," he said. "It's a great thing to say to a brother before he goes back to school until Thanksgiving."

"I thought you dropped out of UCLA already," Jade said as she looked for traffic. She turned onto the street and stopped at a redlight a few hundred feet away.

"I'm nearly about to be kicked out of there," he said. "Apparently, Lane works there, and he's about to file for me to be expelled."

"Oh, this Thanksgiving is going to outrank all of the others based on how many times you're called a failure," she teased.

"It doesn't matter. I'm never going to live up to their expectations."

"You already did; you finally put Rex in the closet and stopped playing with that stupid puppet."

"Hey!" Robbie punched Jade's shoulder, and Jade pushed him back. They exchanged a serious look before cracking up. The light turned green, and Jade began driving them back home.


	3. All My Loving

"Beck, when will you come back from America?" Tori asked, rubbing his hands with hers before he departed for Los Angeles. He had signed up for the Candian Navy, from what she knew, but in reality, Beck was looking to find the man whom he believed was his real-life father.

"I don't know," Beck replied, kissing Tori on the lips. "But I will write to you every day while I'm away. I won't ever forget you, and I don't want you to ever forget me, either."

Tori nodded. "I won't." She hugged Beck tightly and let out a soft sob. He rubbed her back and sighed.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you too. Always." They pulled away and smiled at each other.

_"Close your eyes and I'll kiss you, tomorrow I'll miss you,"_ Beck sang, _"Remember I'll always be true."_

Tori closed her eyes and smiled. Beck leaned forward and exchanged one last lustful, passionate kiss before pulled away from her. He continued to hold onto her hands. She squeezed his hands tightly, not wanting to ever let go.

_"And then while I'm away, I'll write home every day, and I'll send all my loving to you."_

Beck let go of Tori's hands and began walking down the road towards the airport. Tori waved good-bye after him, grinning from ear-to-ear. Beck waved back and continued walking, a slight bounce in his step.

_"I'll pretend that I'm kissing the lips I am missing and hope that my dreams will come true."_

A group of children playing in the street ran onto the sidewalk and waved at Beck as he walked by. He smiled and watched as the kids went right back to their game of stickball as soon as he was out of their way. He was definitely going to miss that while he was gone.

_"And then while I'm away, I'll write home every day, and I'll send all my loving to you."_

Beck went with the flow of dozens of other people walking on the sidewalk. Men on their PearPhones taking important business calls while talking as loudly as humanly possible. Women dragging kids by their ears, pushing babies and toddlers in strollers, or a mixture of both. Teenagers in love sitting on the curb or a bench and snuggling together. Nothing out of the ordinary in Canada.

_"All my loving I will send to you. All my loving, darling I'll be true."_

Beck walked through the airport and slowly made his way from the ticket counter through security and to his gate. He waited patiently for the gate to open and for him to make his way to his seat. Once he was able, Beck gave the woman his ticket and walked through the conjoining hallway to the plane that the airports used.

_"Close your eyes and I'll kiss you, tomorrow I'll miss you; remember I'll always be true."_

Beck put his one bag in the overhead compartment and sat down by the window seat, patiently waiting for the plane to take off in the sky.

_"And then while I'm away, I'll write home every day, and I'll send all my loving to you."_

The plane took off a short while later, landing at LAX three hours afterwards. Beck grabbed his back and went outside. He hailed a taxi and told it to drive to Hollywood Arts High School. He tapped his fingertips against the leather seat while the yellow car slowly made its way down the busy highway.

_"All my loving I will send to you. All my loving, darling I'll be true."_

The taxi stopped in front of the large colorful building. Beck pulled out his wallet and paid the man with the money he had exchanged into American dollar bills.

_"All my loving, all my loving."_

The taximan drove away in a bit of a hurry. Beck turned around and stared at the building hesitantly.

_"All my loving I will send to you."_

Beck walked through the front door in to the main hallway. Every locker was designed with something different. Random students were running around, singing, dancing, playing an instrument, or a combination of them. One boy with a short afro, thick glasses, pale skin, girl jeans, and a plaid shirt tripped and fell onto the floor, dropping his books and some papers in his hands. Beck instinctively rushed over and helped the boy up, along with helping him pick up the items he had just dropped.

"Thanks," the boy said.

"No problem," Beck replied. "Just being curteous."

"You're the first one around here. Most people hate me here."

"Well, do you know who Mr. Alexander is? He's one of the teachers at this school."

"Most of the teachers hate me too, so I'm not sure who that is."

"His first name is Lane-"

"Oh, I know him! He's the guidance counselor! His office is that way! He usually has a bunch of lotion with weird tastes and scents."

Beck made a face. "Tastes?"

"You'd be surprised at how the Sour Cream and Onion lotion tastes. Good luck. I'd help you out, but I need to go find my step-sister."

"Well, see you around then." Beck waved good-bye and made a face at the kid. When he turned around, he bumped into another man, who nearly fell over before Beck helped him back onto his feet.

"I'm sorry!" both men shouted at the same time. "I didn't see you there! It's all my fault."

"Who are you?" the man asked.

"My name is Beck Oliver, and I'm here to look for Lane Alexander," Beck explained.

"That's me," Lane said. "Anything I can do you for?"

"Well... I think you're my father." Lane stared at Beck with a serious expression before bursting out laughing.

"What?" Beck asked.

"I don't have any kids!" Lane laughed.

"Yeah, you do, and that's me."

"That's impossible!"

Beck reached into his bag and began searching around. "But I had taken a DNA test, and according to these lab results..." Beck pulled out the results to see that Lane had disappeared. Beck sighed and shoved the paper back into his bag. "Perfect. Now what am I going to do in America?"


	4. I Wanna Hold Your Hand

_"Go, go, Northridge! Go, go, Northridge! GO-O-O Northridge!"_

All of the cheerleaders began cheering and doing high kicks. Their pom-poms were high up in the air as the girls waved them all around. The football players stared at the girls and their low-V-neck tops and very high miniskirts. Of course, all of the Northridge guys were pigs, but no one was going to stop them. The girls were just as bad, if not, then worse, than all of the other guys. One girl with red velvet cupcake hair let down her ponytail and whipped her hair back and forth, the wind blowing through it. The other girls glared at her; letting down your hair was against Northridge cheerleading rules.

"Ahem," Bella cleared her throat. "Cat, you need to put your hair back up."

"Why?" Cat asked.

"Because that's the rules!" Christi snapped. "Put your hair up before we get back from our ten-minute break or else I'm pulling you from the squad! Take ten girls!" The entire squad skipped on inside, except for Cat. She knew the girls were going to throw up their lunches from earlier today. Cat was starving, and never was the girl who purged. She openly ate a cupcake and drank a bottle of Wahoo punch on the field. She watched the football players practice. Once in a while, a player would pause in the middle of a play to whistle at her or make some sort of inappropriate gesture. She was disgusted at the guys. She wanted something else. Something fresh. Something... not Northride.

_"Yeah, I'll tell you something  
I think you'll understand  
When I say that something  
I wanna hold your hand  
I wanna hold your hand  
I wanna hold your hand."_

Cat started jumping from one bleacher to another, walking across the cool metal absentmindedly.

_"Oh, please, say to me  
You'll let me be your man  
And please, say to me  
You'll let me hold your hand  
Now let me hold your hand  
I wanna hold your hand."_

Cat saw the cheerleaders coming back outside. The football players were heading over towards the bleachers to take their break. Cat looked in the direction of Hollywood.

_"And when I touch you I feel happy, inside  
It's such a feeling  
That my love  
I can't hide  
I can't hide  
I can't hide!"_

"Cat, tie your hair up this instance before I ban you from the squad permanently!" Bella screeched.

"I dare you, because I quit!" Cat shouted, giggling. She ignored the football guys underneath of the bleachers, looking up and under her skirt. Cat hopped off of the bleachers and walked across the field.

_"Yea you, got that something  
I think you'll understand  
When I feel that something  
I wanna hold your hand  
I wanna hold your hand  
I wanna hold your hand_

_I wanna hold your hand."_

Cat skipped on back and stood on the home line, smiling innocently.

"And give me back the uniform!" Christi hissed.

"'Kay 'Kay!" Cat took off her shirt and skirt, leaving her standing in the field in nothing but her white sports bra, matching boyshorts, and white tennis shoes. She picked up her clothes and threw them at the astonished girls. The boys whistled and stared as Cat picked up her bag and pulled out a pink tank top and shorts. She slipped them on in the middle of the field, not even caring who saw.

"Cat, you're such a freak!" Bella yelled.

"Get out of my school!" Christi screamed.

"Fine by me!" Cat picked up her bag and skipped away. She was going to go somewhere that was going to make everyone at Northridge wish that she's never left. It was 1972- who knew what she could possibly find.


	5. With A Little Help From My Friends

"Hey!" Robbie ran into the main hallway, only for everyone to laugh at him. Even the group of dancers had to stop to point and laugh at Robbie's usual misfortune. He stopped in the middle of the hall and looked around.

"Whatcha looking for now, Robbie?" one girl teased.

"Who snuck into my gym locker and stole my pants?" Robbie shouted. He was stuck in his plaid button-up shirt and whitie-tighties, with everyone he knew staring right at him. Two guys in the background were snickering and holding Robbie's skinny jeans behind their backs. Beck noticed and walked up to them.

"Hey, man, give me his pants," Beck said calmly.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" the boy with the pants threatened.

"Eli, let it go," the other said.

"No, Darren, I think I need to know who he is thinking that he can just tell me to do whatever he wants me to do," Eli snapped, getting closer to Beck. Beck stared back.

"Can I just have the pants?" he asked. Eli frowned but reluctantly handed over the pants. Beck smiled as he took them over to Robbie.

"How'd you... Where'd these... Thanks!" Robbie put on the pants in the middle of the hallway, since the final bell rang and the others around him had suddenly lost interest in laughing at the pantless boy.

"I was just passive about it," Beck said. "He just gave them to me without any hassle."

"No one around here stands up for me," Robbie said as he zipped up his pants.

"I see that now."

"Well then, I'm Robbie." He buttoned his pants and shook Beck's hand.

"Beck."

"Where are you from, Beck?"

"Canada-"

"Canada!" Robbie began laughing. "Wow! I never met a Canadian before. Does this mean that you don't celebrate Thanksgiving?"

"What's Thanksgiving?" Beck asked.

"You're coming to my house for it! I never bring friends home anymore."

"Well, you have to have _some_ friends here." Robbie shook his head and shrugged.

_"What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me? Lend me your ears and I sing you a song and I'll try not to sing out of key. Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends!"_

_"He gets high with a little help from his friends?"_ Beck made a gesture to see if Robbie'd understand. Robbie grinned and nodded.

_"Oh, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends! What do I do when my love is away?"_

_"Does it worry you to be alone?"_

_"How do I feel by the end of the day?"_

_"Are you sad because you're on your own?"_ The two put their arms around each other and headed towards the North parking lot.

_"I get by with a little help from my friends! Yeah, I get high with a little help from my friends! Oh, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends!"_

_"Do you need anybody?"_ Beck asked.

_"I need somebody to love!"_ Robbie belted out.

_"Could it be anybody?"_

_"I want somebody to love!" _The two laughed.

_"Would you believe in love at first sight?"_ they asked each other.

_"Yeah, I'm certain it happens all the time,"_ Beck guessed.

_"What do you see when you turn out the lights?"_

_"I can't tell ya, but I know it's mine,"_ Robbie said, winking.

_"Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends. Mmm, I get high with a little help from my friends! Oh, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends!"_

Beck ran and jumped onto one of the tables. _"Do you need anybody?"_

Robbie jumped on top of a second table. _"I need somebody to love!"_

They jumped onto the same table. _"Could it be anybody?" _They ran up the spiral staircase to the platform above. _"O-o-o-oh, o-o-o-oh! By with a little help from my friends! High with a little help from my friends! Try with a little help from my friends! By with a little help from my friends!"_

Robbie slowly slid down backwards on the staircase railing. _"I get by with a little help from my friends, with a little help from my..."_

Beck walked down slowly beside him. _"Frie-e-e-e-ends."_

"We're going to be great friends," Robbie said. "I can see it now."

"One American friend couldn't hurt," Beck said, shrugging.


	6. It Won't Be Long

_Dearest Jade,_

_I have finally been told that I can come back home to you very soon. In fact, it's going to be by the end of the month! Can you believe it? Within sixteen days, I will kiss your scrumptous lips until... well, you know what I'm talking about. Anywho, as soon as the war ends, I want to take you to Vietnam. This country is one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen- second, right after you- and the people are actually very amicable. There isn't as much technology here, and the thought of living without needing to stare at a TV screen all day actually is kind of comforting to me. Maybe we can become hippies after we're married, and live in a trailer or RV or tent in Iowa? Imagine how much more peaceful our lives could be that way. We'd be living in perfect harmony. And who knows? Maybe the pitter-patter of a little boy or girl with your eyes and my hair will echo around us, and we'd be the perfect family that all Americans should have._

_All of my love,_

_Daniel_

* * *

"AH!" Jade ran upstairs to her room and jumped onto her bed. She rolled onto her back and kissed the letter. Her Daniel was finally coming home! Now everything was falling back into place!

_"It won't be long yeah, yeah, yeah! It won't be long yeah, yeah, yeah! It won't be long yeah, till I belong to you!"_ she sang. She opened her closet door to be greeted by pictures of her and Daniel from their relationship that'd been happening for the past year.

_"Every night, when everybody has fun, here I am sitting all on my own! It won't be long yeah, yeah, yeah! It won't be long yeah, yeah, yeah! It won't be long yeah, till I belong to you!"_ Jade shut her closet door and climbed out her window onto her roof. She lied down across the shingles and stared at the moon shining brightly.

_"Since you left me, I'm so alone. Now you're coming, you're coming on home. I'll be good like I know I should- you're coming home, you're coming home! Every night, tears come down from my eyes. Every day I've done nothing but cry. It won't be long yeah, yeah, yeah! It won't be long yeah, yeah, yeah! It won't be long yeah, till I belong to you!"_ Jade climbed back into the room and reread the letter. He wrote it on the sixteenth; it was the twenty-third now! She ran outside and across the street to her best friend Lindsey's house. She told Lindsey the news and the two girls began shrieking. Jade ran back hom quickly so the two could go bike riding together.

_"Since you left me, I'm so alone. Now you're coming, you're coming on home. I'll be good like I know I should- you're coming home, you're coming home!"_ The two girls biked through their peaceful neighborhood, both eager for the arrival of Daniel.

_"Every day, we'll be happy I know. Now I know that you won't leave me no more!"_

_"It won't be long, yeah,"_ Lindsey sang.

_"Yeah!"_

_"Yeah!"_

_"Yeah!"_

_"Yeah! It won't be long, yeah!"_

_"Yeah!"_

_"Yeah!"_

_"Yeah!"_

_"Yeah!"_

_"Yeah!"_

_"It won't be long yeah!"_

_"Ye-e-e-e-ah! It won't be long till I belong to you!"_

Jade slowed down when she saw two men in uniform walk up to Daniel's house. His mother opened the door and was handed a folded American flag. Jade and Lindsey stopped and dropped their bikes. They raced over to the front door as the men left solemnly. Daniel's mother dropped the flag, leaned against a post, and began sobbing. Lindsey began to comfort her. Jade picked up the flag and shook her head. Her Daniel couldn't be dead... She hugged the flag to her chest and for once in her life let a lone tear fall down her pale cheek.


	7. I've Just Seen A Face

"Ah, there is nothing more American or fun than going to the bowling alley!" Robbie proclaimed as he dragged Beck and Jade inside.

"Robbie, can we do this another day?" Jade pleaded. "It's bad enough you pissed off our parents when we were at dinner on Thanksgiving, but do you need to bring us here?"

"You need to get out of your funk, and Beck needs to see that being an American is more than sitting around and eating food!" He left the two at one of the lanes and walked away to get shoes for the trio.

"Your brother is pretty crazy," Beck said.

"That's an understatement," Jade scoffed. "But he's my brother, so I have no choice but to love him. Especially when he's home; he usually never is."

"And he won't be for much longer. Tomorrow, we're heading to the hills- Beverly Hills."

"What?"

"Here you go, Jade," Robbie said as he returned with three pairs of bowling shoes. "I hope you're still a size-"

"Why didn't you tell me that you were leaving?" Jade snapped. "I barely had time to be with you and now you're disappearing!"

"I was going to tell you tonight," Robbie said. "And you can come to stay with us whenever you want, I promise." Jade jutted out her bottom lip. Beck smiled; it made her look more adorable and innocent.

"I'm going to go see you when I get done school," she said. "But for now, we're going to show this Canadian how Americans have fun." She grinned and snatched up the shoes from her brother. Beck and Robbie sat down across from her and put their shoes on while Jade put their names into the computer.

"She's a piece of work," Robbie sighed. "But I love the girl. Imagine the three of us living together under one roof."

"Yeah," Beck muttered. "Imagine that." He watched as she picked up a bowling ball and rolled it down the lane. She knocked over six of the pins. The next one made it a spare. She jumped up and down and hugged Robbie.

"You're right, this is exactly what I need," she said. Beck smiled at the girl. He couldn't believe how she and Robbie were related, with his awkwardness and her beauty.

_"I've just seen a face, I can't forget the time or palce where we just met. She's just the girl for me and I want all the world to see we've met,"_ he sang. _"Mm-mm-mm-m'mm-mm."_

"Darn seven-ten splitters!" Robbie whined. "I can never get those! Your turn, Beck." Beck picked up a bowling ball and prepared himself to throw it.

_"Had it been another day, I might have looked the other way. And I'd never been aware, but as it is I'll dream of her tonight, di-di-di-di'n-di."_ He knocked over eight pins, leaving four and seven up.

_"Falling, yes I am falling, and she keeps calling me back again."_ He managed to knock over the seven, but not the four. He found this kind of boring. He took the bowling ball out of Jade's hands and put it back.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

_I have never known the like of this, I've been alone and I have missed things and kept out of sight, but other girls were never quite like this, mmm-mmm-mmm-m'mmm-mmm. Falling, yes I am falling, and she keeps calling me back again."_ Beck took a few steps back before sliding across the lane. Everyone watched him make to the end of the lane before laughing and joining in. Robbie slid down the next lane and turned back to face everyone, only to ram into the wall at the end and fall over. Now everyone was taking turns sliding down the lanes or bowl. They all fell over at least once and laughed as they did.

_"Falling, yes I am falling, and she keeps calling me back again."_ Beck, Jade, and Robbie ran across the lanes, skipping over the gutters and somehow staying on their feet.

_"Falling, yes I am falling, and she keeps calling me back again."_

"Wow, who knew you'd be so... fun?" Jade laughed.

"I should say the same for you," Beck said. "And it sucks that tomorrow your brother and I will be gone."

"I'll come for you."

"Promise?" he asked. Jade took Beck's hands in hers and pressed them between their chests. Beck tried to pretend that his fingers were grazing her large breasts and was able to gaze into her eyes without letting them wander at all.

"Promise."


	8. Let It Be

_"When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be._

And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be. Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

And when the broken hearted people living in this world agree, there will be an answer, let it be.

_For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see, there will be an answer. Let it be._

_Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be. There will be an answer let it be._

_And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light, that shines on me, shine until tomorrow, let it be. _

_Ohhh, I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, i want you to let it be. Yeah, yeah, yeah, let it be, let it be, let it be. Oh let it be._

_Oh theres gonna be an answer, I want you to let it be yeah yeah yeah let it be let it be let it be, oh let it be._

_Whisper words of wisdom... Let it be."_

Andrè looked up at the people he was auditioning to. A female singer was looking for a new guitarist, and a possible back-up vocalist. Her manager nodded. Andrè took a deep breath and put his guitar on the floor. He sang from his heart, about his brother's death in a gang fight. He was devastated, and the first thing he did was run from Philadelphia to California. After seeing this advertisement in Beverly Hills, he knew that this was fate. And it was apparent to the singer and manager that it this role was meant for him.

"What do you think?" the manager asked. He looked over to the tan girl. She reached up and pulled out her clip, releasing her long waves of brown hair. She stood up and slowly began clapping.

"He's perfect," she said in a deep, raspy voice. "He can start now."

"Alright, where's your address?" Andrè gulped. He didn't have an official address.

"Well, I-" he began.

"He lives with me," the woman stepped in. "Just send his mail to my apartment. We live together. I didn't know he was auditioning today though."

"Roger that. Remember that your next performance is Friday night." The manager got up and rushed away to make a quick phone call. Andrè watched as the woman walked over to him, shaking her hips naturally and smirking at him.

"You need a place to stay?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, thanks." Andrè shook her hand. "I'm Andrè Harris."

"Good to know your name." She shook his hand back. "I'm Trina. Let me bring you to my place. Just remember that now _mi casa su casa._"


	9. Come Together

A bum walked in downtown Los Angeles by the subway station. He saw Andrè Harris buy a ticket to Beverly Hills. He knew the kid as one of his senior class students and approaches him.

"Hey Andrè," he greeted him.

"Oh, hey Sikowitz," Andrè replied. "What'cha doing here?"

"Trying to make money by playing my trumpet!"

"But you don't have a trumpet with you," Andrè said, furrowing his eyebrows. Sikowtiz looked at his hands to see that Andrè was right.

"How about that." A train rushed into the station and opened its doors to release a swarm of passengers. "Well, that's your cue. Have fun."

"Uh, thanks?" Andrè rushed to his train. Sikowitz leaned against the cool brick wall and made a beat by tapping his hands against them rythymically.

"_Here come old flattop he come grooving up slowly. He got joo-joo eyeball he one holy roller. He got hair down to his knee; got to be a joker he just do what he please."_

Sikowitz started walking around, looking for a local farmer's market still open at seven at night.

_"He wear no shoeshine he got toe-jam football. He got monkey finger he shoot coca-cola. He say 'I know you, you know me'.One thing I can tell you is you got to be free. Come together right now over me."_

Sikowitz eventually found one and bought coconuts. He was soon wandering around Beverly Hills, where he bumped into Andrè.

"What- How- Huh?" Andrè asked.

"I dunno shw-what happened here," Sikowitz replied, "I'm gonna crow-wow-on you Miss Toronto 2015!"

"It's only 1974," Andrè replied slowly as he quickly walked away. SIkowitz swatted his arms at the kid.

_"He bag production he got walrus gumboot. He got Ono sideboard he one spinal cracker. He got feet down below his knee. Hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease. Come together right now over me."_

Now Sikowitz was outside an apartment complex. Outside was a large swarm of younger women between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-seven. A few of them went up to the psychotic teacher and wrapped their arms around him. He grinned and sipped his coconut milk some more.

"_He roller-coaster he got early warning. He got muddy water he one mojo filter. He say, 'One and one and one is three'. Got to be good-looking 'cause he's so hard to see. Come together right now over me."_

"Why are you...?" Andrè asked. He shook his head and pressed the buzzer for Trina's apartment. The door unlocked and he let himself in, shaking his head at his teacher, who was covered in attractive younger women.

"So, is there anything else we can do with you and that coconut?" one of them asked, grinning. Sikowitz thought about it for a while.

"Have you ever bowled before?"


	10. Why Don't We Do It In The Road

**_(A/N: My new Pen Name is SaintWhatsername, in case you were confused.)_**

* * *

Cat skipped down the road with a hot pink bookbag on her shoulders. She was wearing sneakers, dark denim mini shorts, and a neon yellow tank top. Her red hair was in a long ponytail, a cheerleading habit she would have trouble breaking. Every few minutes, she turned around and stuck out her thumb. Most people kept on driving, with some pigs honking at her. Finally, one car pulled over and put on its hazard lights. Cat squealed in delight and ran up to the car. A window rolled down to reveal two guys.

"Whoa, major babe alert!" one of them announced.

"Call 9-1-1!" the other shouted.

"She's on fire!"

"Ha-ha-hot!"

"Where do you guys live?" Cat asked.

"Beverly Hills," the second one said.

"You mind taking..." Cat ran her finger back and forth along the first one's forearm. "...your girlfriend?"

"Oh yeah!" he shouted. "Boom! Hop in!"

"'Kay 'kay!" Cat jumping into the backseat and the car sped off towards Beverly Hills.

* * *

"So, there's the kitchen-slash-dining-room-slash-living room," Trina told Beck and Robbie. She walked through stringed beads hanging from the ceiling. "And here's my room. That can be your room," she told Beck, and then to Robbie, "I guess you'll take the smaller room."

"Of course," Robbie muttered to himself.

"That guitar player is Andrè, the other roommate," Trina said. She grinned and waved at him. She walked towards him and leaned forward to give him a hug. Beck and Robbie's eyes lingered on Trina for a little longer than they should have, and they fist-bumped.

"So, um, where's the bathroom?" Robbie asked, finally looking up.

"Down that hall to the left," Trina answered. "Do you have a photographic memory?"

"Uh, sure, I guess," Robbie said.

"Why?" Beck asked.

"There's no mirror," Trina smirked. She looked at Andrè. "Let's practice."

"Got it," he said as he played a few random chords on his guitar. "Five, six- five, six, seven, eight." He began playing a song. Trina grabbed a hairbrush as a mock microphone. Beck and Robbie decided to stay and watch. Trina winked at the two.

_"Why don't we do it in the road? Why don't we do it in the road? Why don't we do it in the road? Why don't we do it in the road? No one will be watching us. Why don't we do it in the road?"_ Trina sang.

"Wow, she's good," Robbie whispered to Beck.

"She looks like the type of person who'd blow every audition ever," Beck replied.

"Or someone who can only be, like, a little girl with tuberculosis." The two boys snickered and listened to Trina's singing.

* * *

"Father, I'm leaving," Jade announced. "I'm living with Robbie in Beverly Hills. I hate you."

"Take out your piercings and remove your tattoos," Jade's dad replied as he turned the page of the newspaper. The front door slammed shut, signalling Jade's disappearance.


	11. If I Fell

"It's great to have you here," Robbie said as he hugged Jade. "How did Dad react?"

"Eh, how should I know?" Jade replied, shrugging. "I'm here now, aren't I? Who else lives here anyway?"

"There's me, Beck, Trina, and Andrè. You know Beck, Trina is checking out some place for her next gig, and Andrè is right there." Andrè looked up and nodded toward Jade, grinning.

"So you're Robbie's sister?" he asked. "How the heck can you be related to that?"

"I ask myself the same thing," Jade said. "Ask my mother."

"Hey!" Robbie exclaimed. Suddenly a thud came from the bathroom. Everyone looked over to see a girl with red hair standing up. There was a bruise on her left eye and red marks from a large hand on her forearm. She seemed scared. She walked out into the living room, careful to keep her distance from the four people staring at her. She suddenly giggled loudly and waved.

"Hi, I'm Cat!" she greeted everyone.

"How'd you get in here?" Robbie asked.

"The window," Cat answered.

"What's that on your arm?"

"My boyfriend sucks. I ran away from him. I don't know where else to go other than back to Ridgeway."

"You don't look like a Ridgeway girl," Andrè pointed out.

"Thanks. I don't like being known as one."

"I'm home!" Trina announced as she pranced through the front door. She threw her keys and the mail onto the counter and placed her bags on the floor. She looked up to see Cat and smiled before beginning to massage Andrè's shoulders.

"Who's this?" she asked.

"Cat," Beck answered. "She came from the window."

"Is that so?" Trina smiled. "Well, she seems like she needs a place to stay. Cat's welcome to stay here in Robbie's room."

"Yay!" Cat squealed. "I love roommates!"

"She's gonna get a real kick out of this," Jade snorted.

"Hey Jade, want to go out to the bay?" Beck offered. "It's really lovely."

"Sure, why not?" Beck and Jade left. Trina sorted through the mail before tossing a letter at Robbie.

"Glad I'm not in your shoes right now," she said.

"Why?" Robbie asked as he opened the envelope. He read the letter inside, his face falling as he got closer to the end. He dropped the letter and sat down on the couch.

"That's why," Trina muttered.

"What's wrong?" Cat asked.

"I've been drafted," Robbie answered. "Dang it!"

* * *

"The bay sucks," Jade pointed out. "Not that I care, but it's a crummy building on some rocks by a smelly body of water. What's so good about that?" She leaned back against the building and sighed.

"I know what'll cheer you up," Beck said. He paused before picking up a stick and drawing with it on the blank concrete wall.

"What are you doing?" Jade asked.

"Don't move," Beck instructed. "I want to get your face right." Jade's eyebrows went up as she sat still and stared at Beck for a few moments. He threw his stick down and smiled at his work. "There," he said. "Now you can move."

"Good." Jade looked to see that Beck drew her face and hair onto the wall. It looked as if a professional did it. She was actually impressed with the job he did. "Wow," she breathed.

"I know, huh?" Beck smirked. "I wanted to get your eyes perfect. I hope I did."

"It's incredible," she said. _You're incredible_, she thought.

"HEY!" Beck and Jade looked up to see a police officer flashing a light down on the two. "You two, scram! You're defacing city property!"

"Oh, crap!" Beck hissed.

"What are you talking about?" Jade asked, laughing. "This was just a crappy wall, and now it's a work of art!" Beck's eyes were wide from how bold Jade was. He wasn't sure if he hated it or if he loved it. Nope, he definitely loved it.

"Do you want me to come down there?" the officer threatened.

"Yeah, please do come down!" Beck blurted. "You'll scuff up them shiny black boots!"

"Shit!" Jade cried. She grabbed Beck's arm. "You don't want to get in trouble with the law, Beck!" Beck knew that if he got in trouble, he was going on the first flight back to Canada. THe two ran as they heard the officer come down the flights of stairs. He ran outside and began chasint the two. Beck and Jade ran inside.

"You hide here, and I'll throw him off," Beck said. He ran back outside. Jade watched Beck get chased down the shore. She smiled. Something about Beck made her feel funny inside. It was a feeling she'd never felt before in her life. Could it be... love?

_"If I fell in love with you, would you promise to be true and help me understand?"_ Jade sang shakily. It was love. Something she had had for only Daniel. But now Daniel was gone and Beck was here, risking deportation so that she wouldn't be arrested.

_"'Cause I've been in love before and I've found that love was more than just holding hands. If I give my heart to you, I must be sure from the very start that you would love me more than her."_ Jade has heard about Tori, but Tori is all talk. She's in Canada, and Beck's in America. So many things could happen without Tori around. They didn't even send letters to each other anymore, so Tori who?

_"If I trust in you, oh please don't run and hide. If I love you too, oh please, don't hurt my pride like her. 'Cause I couldn't stand the pain, and I would be sad if our new love was in vain. So I hope you see that I would love to love you."_

Yes, love. That's what Jade felt for Beck. True love.


	12. I Want You She's So Heavy

Robbie walked into the recruitment office, scared for what could happen next. He looked up at a poster of Uncle Sam, hoping that it would make him braver. But Uncle Sam glared back at the weak nerd. He let out a nervous sound that he wasn't sure of.

"_I want you_," Uncle Sam ordered Robbie. "_I want you so bad. I want you. I want you so bad it's driving me mad, it's driving me mad!_" Two officers grabbed Robbie and stripped him down to his tighty-whities. He was dragged towards the offices. He could hear Trina taunting him in his head.

_"I want you_," she teased. "_I want you so bad. I want you. I want you so bad it's driving me mad, it's driving me..._" He made a face when he could see Andrè come into view, making out passionately like he wanted to do with Cat so many times. Robbie was thrown into a room with a recruitment officer who was writing notes on a clipboard.

"Is there any reason you shouldn't be in this man's army?" he asked, giving Robbie a look.

"I have flat feet," Robbie spat out. He was told that flat feet was the one thing that officers turned down.

"It's a new policy that allows flat-footed men. As long as you're not a cross-dressing homosexual pacifist with a spot on your lung." Robbie let out another weird sound, making the officer another look. He was suddenly surrounded by other men stripped to the underwear as well. The Statue of Liberty came down and they held her up with their arms. She was too heavy in Robbie's opinion. The men marched across a map. He could still hear Trina's voice.

_"She's so heavy! She's so heavy! Heavy, heavy, heavy!"_

* * *

Robbie came home to see Beck and Jade sleeping in their bed. Both were only covered by a white sheet, and Jade's bare breasts by Beck's tan arms. He sat on a stool in the room and cleared his throat. Jade stirred and woke up.

"Oh, hey," she greeted him.

"So that's how it is?" he asked. Beck woke up now to hear that. Jade giggled.

"Yeah," he said. "That's how it is."

"Well, speaking as a brother, I think she could do better." Beck rolled his eyes. So far, he didn't think he could ever do better. He had completely forgotten all about Tori back in Canada.

"Max? Get out!" Jade said, motioning to her and Beck's naked bodies.

"Well, I'm sorry, but, as blissful as you are in the throes of young love, I'm just letting you know I have a date with Uncle Sam." Robbie left the room. He walked past the window before pausing and doing a double take. Cat was sitting on the fire escape, her eyes visibly red and puffy from crying.

_"I want you,_" she crooned. "_I want you so bad. I want you. I want you so bad, it's driving me mad, it's driving me... oh, oh, oh..."_

Robbie's eyes lit up. "She must want me!" He grabbed Andrè's guitar and began strumming chords.


	13. Dear Caterina

"Where the hell is my favorite pair of leather pants?" Trina barked as she stormed around the house in her robe. Robbie, Beck, and Jade all looked up from their bowls of cereal. Rather than answer the diva, they stared at the soggy corn flakes and took large bites of it. Andrè came out of the bathroom without a shirt on.

"Check the hall closet," he suggested. "I thought you left them in the bathroom when we..." He glanced wearily at the others, who all gave him looks of disgusts. "Oh, like none of you haven't showered with another person before!"

"Robbie hasn't," Jade muttered as she shovelled more corn flakes into her mouth.

"Damn it!" Trina shouted. "The door is locked!"

"You can't lock the closet door," Robbie pointed out. The five roommates gathered outside the door and all took turns trying to open it. None of them could.

"Has anyone seen Cat?" Beck asked. When no one answered, they all stared at the closet door.

"Cat, are you in the closet?" Jade asked.

"Leave me alone!" came out her muffled cry. The gang sighed.

"Come on out, Little Red," Andrè coaxed.

"NO!"

"Do we break down the door?" Robbie suggested. Trina shook her head and moved him aside. She stood close to the door and smiled.

_"Dear Caterina, won't you come out to play?_" she crooned. _"Dear Caterina, greet the brand new day. The sun is up, the sky is blue, it's beautiful, and so are you. Dear Caterina, won't you come out to play?"_ The door didn't budge and Cat didn't retaliate. "I NEED MY FREAKING LEATHER PANTS!"

"Let's check the dressers," Andrè said quickly, leading Trina out of the room so she could get ready for her next show in an hour. Beck shrugged and decided to give it a try.

_"Dear Caterina, open up your eyes,_" he sang.

_"Dear Caterina, see the sunny skies,"_ Jade added. They gave Robbie a look. He shrugged and joined them;

_"The wind is low, the bird will sing that you were part of everything."_

_"Dear Caterina,"_ Robbie sang solo, _"Won't you open up your eyes?" _The three shared a look when Cat still hadn't said anything.

_"Look around, round, round, round, round. Look around, round, round, round, round. Look around, round, round, round, round. Look around, round, round, round, round. Look around..._

_"Dear Caterina, won't you come out to play? Dear Caterina, greet the brand new day. The sun is up... the sky is blue... it's beautiful... and so are you... Dear Caterina, won't you come out to play?"_

"Let's go!" Andrè informed the three as he and Trina headed for the front door.

"Are you coming Cat?" Beck asked. Still no response. "Alright, see you later!" The five of them headed out the door for Trina's next performance.

When they got home, it was Robbie who opened up the closet door and discovered that Cat had taken off while they were gone.


	14. Flying, Blue Jay Way & I Am The Walrus

Trina led Andrè, Beck, Jade, and Robbie inside the bar. Strobe and disco lights were flashing all around them. The band on stage was playing some instrumental from their latest album. Apparently Shawn Quincy wanted to become Trina's new manager for her and her band, which she nearly fainted when she heard. She brought the gang because they were all close to her, and all moping because of Cat's disappearance act. Robbie was about to leave to fight in Vietnam shortly and this was partially a going away party that they were throwing within the party already commencing. Trina located Shawn and rushed over to him. The others grabbed a cup full of punch- Andrè grabbed two, one for him, the other for Trina- and toasted to absolutely nothing. After a few minutes, all of them couldn't see right. They were all feeling dizzy. The five started dancing together erotically. Beck and Jade tried to have a "private moment" in one of the bedrooms but weren't stable enough to attempt anything but laughter. Trina realized that their cups were laced with LSD, but all of them were too high to do anything. Instead, they watched random figures float in front of their eyes as the band played another song;

_"There's a fog upon L.A.  
And my friends have lost their way  
We'll be over soon they said  
Now they've lost themselves instead_

_Please don't be long_  
_Please don't you be very long_  
_Please don't be long_  
_Or I may be asleep_

_Well it only goes to show_  
_And I told them where to go_  
_Ask a policeman on the street_  
_There's so many there to meet_

_Please don't be long_  
_Please don't you be very long_  
_Please don't be long_  
_Or I may be asleep_

_Now it's past my bed I know_  
_And I'd really like to go_  
_Soon will be the break of day_  
_Sitting here in Blue Jay Way_

_Please don't be long_  
_Please don't you be very long_  
_Please don't be long_  
_Or I may be asleep_

_Please don't be long_  
_Please don't you be very long_  
_Please don't be long_  
_Or I may be asleep_

_Please don't be long_  
_Please don't you be very long_  
_Please don't be long_  
_Or I may be asleep_

_Don't be long_  
_Don't be long_  
_Don't be long_  
_Don't be long_  
_Don't be long_  
_Don't be long_  
_Don't be long..."_

* * *

Soon the gang found themselves on a bus that magically changed colors. So were the passengers, led by someone they referred to as "Sikowitz". They all had a large amount of the punch with them that everyone took very large servings of subconsciously. Sikowitz climbed onto the front seats while one of his much more sober followers took the wheel. He was cackling like a madman with Mercury poisoning.

_"I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.  
See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly.  
I'm crying._

_Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come._  
_Corporation tee-shirt, stupid bloody tuesday._  
_Man, you been a naughty boy, you let your face grow long._  
_I am the eggman, they are the eggmen._  
_I am the walrus,_  
_goo goo gajoo_

_Mister city policeman sitting_  
_Pretty little policemen in a row._  
_See how they fly like lucy in the sky, see how they run._  
_I'm crying, I'm crying._  
_cryyyyyy_

_Yellow matter custard, dripping from a dead dog's eye._  
_Crabalocker fishwife, pornographic priestess,_  
_Boy, you been a naughty girl you let your knickers down._  
_I am the eggman, they are the eggmen._  
_I am the walrus,_  
_goo goo gajoo_

_Sitting in an english garden waiting for the sun._  
_If the sun don't come, you get a tan_  
_From standing in the english rain._  
_I am the eggman, they are the eggmen._  
_I am the walrus,_  
_goo goo gajoo g'goo goo gajoo_  
_goo goo gajoo g'goo goo gajoo_

_Expert textpert choking smokers,_  
_Don't you thing the joker laughs at you?_  
_See how they smile like pigs in a sty,_  
_See how they snied._  
_I'm crying._

_Semolina pilchard, climbing up the eiffel tower._  
_Elementary penguin singing hari krishna._  
_Man, you should have seen them kicking edgar allan poe._  
_I am the eggman, they are the eggmen._  
_I am the walrus,_  
_goo goo gajoo g'goo goo gajoo_  
_goo goo gajoo g'goo goo gajoo_

_choo pa-choo pa-choo pa_  
_choo pa, choo pa,_  
_choo pa, choo pa-choo pa,_  
_choo pa, choo pa-choo pa_  
_choo pa, choo pa, choo pa-choo pa."_


	15. For The Benefit Of Sinjin & Because

"_Ungh_," Beck moaned. He put his hand on his head as he sat up. He opened his eyes to see that he was lying in the grass. He stood up quickly to see grass everywhere.

"OW!" Jade snapped as she awoke as well. "Damn hangovers!"

"What happened last night?" Beck asked weakly.

"I know," Trina answered as she staggered to the couple with Andrè and Robbie. "The drinks we had were drugged. We were ditched here by Sikowitz. I think we're in northern California."

"And I'm being deployed soon," Robbie grumbled. "This is bullcrap!"

"Hey, what's that over there?" Jade asked. The group looked over to see a large tent. They all ran to it in hopes of finding something useful. Instead, they found themselves in five seats around a circle of sand full of dancing puppets and a ringleader. He had a light brown afro and thin round glasses.

_"For the benefit of Sinjin there will be a show tonight on trampoline!"_ he announced. The puppets began dancing around. _"The Van Cleefs will all be there, late of Pablo-Franques fair! It's great- they've got stuff!"_

"Why are we here?" Trina asked Andrè.

"Over men and horses, hoops and garters,, lastly through a hoghead's of fire!" the ringleader continued. In this way, Sinjin will challenge the world- with the Rex puppets! They're great, they're just... chilled out!"

"They look so freaky!" Jade hissed.

_"The celebrated Sinjin performs his feat on Saturday at Bishopsgate. Nice neck of the woods! The Van Cleefs are going to sing and dance as Sinjin flies through the ring- don't be late! Mrs. Van Cleef assures the public that their performance is second-to-none baby! And of course, Henry the Horse is going to do the waltz!"_ A redhead girl giggled as she danced in a horse costume.

"Cat?" Robbie asked weakly as he paid closer attention.

"Oh, you gotta see it, it's genius!" Sinjin boasted. "I mean, she's brilliant, she's got the stuff and movements and squats. Horses, how do they do that? You gotta give her sugar, you know, and she's called Henry and it's a lot of explanation but don't worry about it kids, okay? Just tune in, turn off, drop out, drop in, switch off, switch on, and explode!"

"CAT!" the five friends shouted.

"Oh, hi!" Cat called back, giggling as she twirled around the Rex puppets.

_"The band begins at ten to six when Sinjin performs his tricks without a sound,"_ Sinjin informed. _"And Mr. C will demonstrate ten somersets he's gonna do on solid ground, whatever they are! Having been some days in preparation, a slendid time is guarenteed for all. And tonight Sinjin is topping the bill! Across the universe, it's me! I'm on top of the bill! I spent years getting to this point! I'm bloody brilliant! This is golden, you gotta see what I do man! I got horses, and dogs, and cats, and monkeys, and Rex puppets. It's just, it's such a collection. I spent years putting this together! You gotta watch it. You gotta see it. It's me! In the thing! Yeah!"_

The five couldn't run out of the tent fast enough. Shortly after escaping, Cat ran up to them gleefully and, to Robbie's disappointment, gabbed about her new boyfriend, Ryder Daniels.

* * *

The next morning, the six friends were lying in the grassy field, all of them bored and hopelessly lost.

"I've got an idea," Trina said.

"What?" the other replied.

"... I lost it," she admitted. They all sighed and stared up at the blue sky.

"_Ah,_" they harmonized, _"Because the world is round, it turns me on. Because the world it round... ah... Because the wind is high, it blows my mind. Because the wind is high... ah... Love is old, love is new... love is all, love is you... Because the sky is blue, it makes me cry. Because the sky is blue... ah... ah... ah..."_

"My idea came back!" Trina exclaimed. "Skinnydipping!" She stood up and began running. Everyone else sat up to see her heading toward a lake. As she was running, she was stripping down to her skin before diving in. The others hesitated, not really wanting to reveal themselves to each other.

"Whee!" Cat squealled as she ran next. Both Robbie and Andrè exchanged a look before running after their women and removing their clothes.

"Do you mind if your brother sees you naked?" Beck asked Jade.

"He'll be too distracted by Cat and Trina to notice," she replied, shrugging. They sighed and walked toward the water, slowly taking off their clothes as they did.


	16. Something & Oh! Darling

Beck painted a portrait of his beautiful sleeping girlfriend. She was partically covered in sheets and wearing nothing, just how she was when Beck walked in. It had been hard for her since Robbie left them to go to Vietnam. The only thing she had done was land a desk job at some place Beck didn't know too well. It was a miracle that she was asleep right now. Beck used the charcoal to draw the outline of her body and every exposed sexy line on her. He couldn't believe that he had found the perfect girl in America.

_"Something in the way she move attracts me like no other lover," _he wondered aloud. _"Something in the way she woos me. I don't want to leave her now, you know I believe in how. Somewhere in her smile she knows that I don't need no other lover. Something in her style that shows me I don't want to leave her now, you know I believe in how._

_You're asking me will my love grow, I don't know, I don't know. You stick around now, it may show, I don't know, I don't know. Something in the way she knows, and all I have to do is think of her. Something in the things she shows me. I don't want to leave her now, you know I believe in how."_

Jade woke up and saw what Beck was doing. She put on a robe and sauntered up behind him to observe his work.

"You didn't get my left nipple right," she said bluntly before leaving the room.

* * *

Beck and Cat stood in the audience and waited for Andrè and Trina's performance to begin. The couple had been on the edge with each other ever since Robbie had left. Jade went to work and couldn't make it. Cat said that she and Ryder had broken up and is also Jade's boss. Beck said that he wasn't worried about anything with him, although Cat said otherwise. The two began cheering when they saw Trina standing at the microphone with the band behind her. She and Andrè both still had sour looks on their faces.

_"Oh, darling!" _Trina sang. _"Please believe me. I'll never do you no harm. Believe me when I tell you I'll never do you no harm. Oh, darling-"_

"Oh darling," Andrè said into his microphone. Beck and Cat exchanged a look. _Oh no._

_"If you leave me,"_ Trina continued, shooting Andrè a dirty look.

"If you leave me." Andrè returned to glance. Trina growled and tried to ignore him.

_"I'll never make it alone."_

"I doubt that."

_"Believe me when I beg you!"_

"Beg you? Beg you?"

_"Don't ever leave me alone!"_

"All alone."

_"Oh yeah, when I told you-"_

"Told me? Told me what?"

_"You didn't need me anymore-"_

"Is this Trina? It's shady. I didn't need you? What?"

_"Well you know, I nearly broke down and cried."_

"There she goes. About to break down and cry. I don't believe this." Andrè moved up by Trina, purposefully pushing her buttons.

_"When you told me-"_

_"When you told me!"_

_"Oh, you didn't need me anymore!"_

_"That I didn't need you!"_

They glared right into each other's eyes now. _"Anymore, well you know I nearly fell down and died!"_ they screamed at each other. Trina reached over and pulled the plug from Andrè's guitar and stormed off stage. Andrè looked out at the confused audience. He plugged his guitar back in and continued the song solo. Everyone watched in awe. Beck and Cat were too stunned to react.

_"Oh, darling! Please don't leave me!"_ he sang. _"Oh you know I'll never make it alone. Believe me when I tell you I'll never, never make it alone! When you told me you didn't need me anymore, well you know I nearly broke down and cried. When you told me you didn't need me anymore, well you know I early broke down and died. Oh! Darling, please believe me! I'll never let you down! Believe me when I tell you, I'll never let you down!"_

He grinned and laughed as the audience roared and cheered for him. The manager went up to him and offered to let him have a solo act. Beck and Cat cringed as they watched the couple fall apart.

* * *

"I don't want anything else to do with that freaking bastard!" she screeched as she stormed into her dressing room. She ignored Shawn Quincy sitting on the couch as she packed up all of her things sloppily into one bag.

"I hope you still want to take up my offer of singing with a new band?" Shawn asked. He held out a card. "They sure could use a girl with a husky, strong voice like yours."

"Really?" Trina hesitated, looking between the door and the card. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and reached forward to snatch the card from his hands.


	17. Strawberry Fields Forever & Revolution

Beck started pinning strawberries onto a canvas with the help of Cat.

"What's this for again?" she asked.

"To help a company make a label," he replied.

"What kind of company?"

"Music."

"That's so exciting!"

"Thanks."

"But why strawberries?"

"Because they're red, juicy... sexy? Right?"

"I guess..."

"Cat, you might want to leave so you don't get hurt," Beck warned as he held up darts. She squeaked and ran out of the room. Beck stood back and thought long and hard. He thought of all of his friends and the anger they had brought into their apartment nowadays. He began throwing the darts angrily.

_"Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields. Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about. Strawberry Fields forever. Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see. It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out. It doesn't matter much to me._

_Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields. Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about. Strawberry Fields forever. Always no sometimes think it's me, but you know I know when it's a dream. I think I know I mean, hey yes, but it's all wrong. That is I think I disagree._

_Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields. Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about. Strawberry Fields forever. Strawberry Fields forever. Strawberry Fields forever..."_

* * *

"Beck, this is really a bad idea!" Cat called out to Beck as he headed toward Jade's work place. "Ryder is too friendly! He might piss you off! I don't want you to do something really stupid!"

"I need to tell her about Trina and Andrè first!" Beck insisted. "I don't care if her boss talks to her..." Beck paused outside the window. Cat stood beside him, nearly crashing into him. They watched Ryder hover over Jade too closely for comfort. She giggled and playfully hit his chest. Beck's blood began to boil.

"Beck..." Cat began. But it was too late. Beck stormed inside and marched right into Jade's office.

"Beck!" she cried. "What the hell are you doing here?"

_"You say you want a revolution,_" he sang. _"Well you know, we all wanna change the world. You tell me that it's evolution, well you know we all wanna change the world. But when you talk about destruction, don't you know that you can count me out. Don't you know it's gonna be alright?"_

"Beck, leave," Jade growled through her teeth. The others in the room looked scared of Beck.

_"You say you'll change the Constitution,"_ Beck continued, ignoring his girlfriend's pleas. _"Well you know we all wanna change your head. You tell me it's the institution, well you know you better change your head. But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow."_

"Who the hell are you?" Ryder snapped when he saw the commotion Beck had caused. Beck turned and punched Ryder in the nose. Two other men grabbed Beck's arms and threw him out of the building. Jade came after a few minutes.

"What's wrong with you?" she cried. She flipped him off before storming back inside.

"I told you so," Cat said under her breath as she helped Beck onto his feet.


	18. HelterSkelter & WhileMyGuitarGentlyWeeps

Trina prepared for her first performance with her new band. She didn't like them one bit. She hated their lack of rhythm or passion in their playing. Shawn Quincy insisted they were perfect for her, and the pay was very generous, so she decided to go along with it. She recognized Cat and Jade in the audience. She was glad that they were there to support her. She also knew that Beck was at Andrè's first performance. She took a deep breath as the audience cheered for her.

_"When I get to the bottom  
I go back to the top of the slide  
Where I stop and turn and I go for a ride  
Till I get to the bottom and I see you again  
Yeah, yeah, yeah  
Do you, don't you want me to love him  
I'm coming down fast but I'm miles above you  
Tell me, tell me, tell me, come on tell me the answer  
Well you may be a lover but you ain't no dancer_

_Look out_  
_Helter skelter_  
_Helter skelter_  
_Helter skelter_  
_Uhhhhh_  
_Will you won't you want me to make you_  
_I'm coming down fast but don't let me break you_  
_Tell me, tell me, tell me, baby tell me the answer_  
_You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer_

_Helter skelter_  
_Helter skelter_  
_Helter skelter_  
_Uhhhh, ow_

_When I get to the bottom_  
_I go back to the top of the slide_  
_When I stop and turn and I go for a ride_  
_And I get to the bottom and I see you again_  
_Yeah, yeah, yeah_

_Well, do you gonna want me to make you_  
_I'm coming down fast but don't let me break you_  
_Well tell me, tell me, tell me the answer_  
_You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer_

_Oh no,_  
_Helter skelter_  
_Helter skelter_  
_Helter skelter_  
_Uhhhh, ow!"_

Everyone cheered, but Trina hated it. She stormed offstage and right up to Shawn Quincy.

"They have no soul!" she insisted. "They suck!"

"But they're your band now," Shawn reminded her.

"Not anymore- I quit!" Trina stormed out of the building, leaving Cat and Jade confused as they watched her go.

* * *

Andrè strummed a few chords on his guitar as he warmed up for his last song. Beck was sitting at the bar, completely hammered. Andrè knew why; Jade said she was going to move out of the apartment. He watched as Beck stumbled up to him.

"I'm gonna go," he said in a sloppy slur. Andrè understood him and nodded. Beck managed to make it out of the bar without passing out and the door shut behind him with a high _DING!_ Andrè sighed and began his final song.

_"I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping,"_ he sang. _"While my guitar gently weeps. I look at the floor and I see it need sweeping. Still my guitar gently weeps. I don't know why nobody told you how to unfold your love. I don't know how someone controlled you; they bought and sold you. I look at the world and I notice it's turning while my guitar gently weeps. With every mistake we must surely be learning. Still my guitar gently weeps._

_"I don't know how you were diverted. You were perverted too. I don't know how you were inverted. No one alerted you. I look at you all Oh... Still my guitar gently weeps..."_

Andrè then remembered that Beck had driven to the bar and was completely intoxicated. They all knew what happened to foreigners who got DUIs.


	19. Across The Universe

"Jade, don't leave!" Cat pleaded. "So what if Beck broke Ryder's nose? It's gonna get fixed up soon!"

"It's not just that," Jade insisted. "It's been like this since Robbie left. He's not happy with my new job. And that Ryder and I have planned a protest for later this afternoon. He's changed."

"So have you."

"You guys!" Andrè shouted as he barged into the apartment.

"What?" Cat, Jade, and Trina ran into the main room.

"Have you guys heard?" he asked.

"Heard what?" Cat asked.

"That you and Trina are back together?" Jade asked. "'Cause she beat you to the punch."

"She already said that she was going to tell you," Andrè said. "Anyway, Beck got a DUI. I went to the police station and they said that it's too late- he's being deported!" The girls gasped.

"Wait, he's not from here?" Cat asked.

"No, he's Canadian," Trina said. "And I have news too. We got a letter in the mail. Robbie's coming home!"

"I don't have time for this!" Jade stormed back into her room and put her coat on.

"Where are you going?" Cat asked. "Even though Beck is gone, you're still packing?"

"No, I have a protest to go to. Even if Robbie's coming home, I need to do this for everyone in war!" Jade left the apartment quickly. Everyone exchanged a look. If anyone had changed, it was definitely Jade.

* * *

_"Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup,"_ Beck sang to himself as he walked through the airport. _"They slither while they pass; they slip away across the universe. Pools of sorrow, waves of joy, are drifting through my open mind, possessing and caressing me... Jai guru devu om... Nothing's gonna change my world. Nothing's gonna change my world._

_"Images of broken light dance before me like a million eyes. They call me on and on across the universe. Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letterbox. They tumble blindly as they make their way across the universe. Nothing's gonna change my world. Nothing's gonna change my..."_ Beck stopped when he found Tori waiting for him, one hand resting on her large belly. He gulped when he realized why it had grown.

"You didn't write," Tori greeted him.

"Sorry," Beck said. "I was just so busy that-"

"What was her name?"

Beck sighed. "Jade."

"Have fun sleeping on the couch." Tori smiled and flagged down a taxi. Beck groaned. He knew that he made a mistake cheating and drunk driving. But leaving his friends and the love of his life in America? That was the biggest mistake of them all.


	20. Happiness Is A Warm Gun & Blackbird

Robbie lied down on the hospital bed, groaning in pain. He did get skimmed with a few bullets, but none of them had actually gone in him. Watching those he had become friendly and close to get shot did scare him though. The doctor had said he had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from it now and was going to return to the states. Although he was excited about that, the pain inside drove him insane. He suddenly felt a needle in his arm and relief flowing out of it and into his veins, travelling throughout his entire body. He looked over to see four nurses tending to him. Each of them looked like copies of actress Alyssa Vaughn wearing a Playboy nurse outfit. Robbie couldn't complain as he watched the nurses.

_"She's not a girl that nurses much,"_ he sang. _"Do do do do do do, oh yeah. She's well acquainted with the touch of a velvet hand like a lizard on a window pane. The man in the crowd with the multicolor mirrors and his hobnail boots. Lion with his eyes while his hands are busy working over time. A soap impression of his wife which he ate and donated to the national trust."_ He made a face. Whatever was in him was not only numbing his body, but making his brain totally insane. He didn't mind though.

_"I need a fix 'cause I'm going down. Down to the pits that left uptown. I need a fix 'cause Im' going down. Mother superior jumped the gun. Mother superior jumped the gun! Mother superior jumped the gun. Mother superior jumped the gun! Mother superior jumped the gun. Mother superior jumped the gun! Happiness is a warm gun..."_

_"Bang bang shoot shoot,"_ the nurses sang as they began to dance before Robbie. He grinned like an idiot.

_"Happiness is a warm gun!"_

_"Bang bang shoot shoot."_

_"When I hold you in my arms-"_

_"Oh yeah!"_

_"When I feel my finger on your trigger-"_

_"Oh yeah!"_

_"Don't you know that nobody can do me no harm, oh because, happiness is a warm gun, mama!"_

_"Bang bang shoot shoot."_

_"Happiness is a warm- yes it is- gun!"_

_"Bang bang shoot shoot."_

_"Well don't you know that happiness is a warm gun mama? Yeah!"_

"Is there anything else you need?" the four Alyssa Vaughns asked.

"More of this," Robbie answered.

* * *

"FIGHT WAR! FIGHT WAR! FIGHT WAR!" the protesters shouted. Jade stood at Ryder's side the entire time, leading the other ralliers through Los Angeles noisily. They marched past thousands of people, some of them joining them during the procession. Jade held Ryder's hand the entire time, determined to wipe Beck's memory from her mind.

"Get ready!" Ryder shouted. Jade watched as Ryder and many others pulled out pipe bombs from their bags or pockets. She gasped and let go of his hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"We need to show the government that what they're doing is wrong!"

"I thought they dropped bombs on the other side." Jade ran away from the protestors. After a few moments, she heard sirens. She looked back to see police officers arriving on the scene and weilding batons. They began beating people while bombs were launched. Jade slipped into the nearest phone booth and sat on the floor, rocking herself and crying. Beck was right about trying to keep her away from Ryder. He was a monster. She felt so stupid and vulnerable, but above all she was scared.

_"Blackbird singing in the dead of night,"_ she sang to herself. She always thought that it was the best way for her to calm down. _"Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise. Blackbird singing in the dead of night. Take these sunken eyes and learn to see all your life, you were only waiting for this moment to be free. Blackbird fly... blackbird fly into the light of the dark black night._

_"Blackbird singing in the dead of night. Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise. You were only waiting for this moment to arise. You were only waiting for this moment to arise."_ Jade looked to see that nearly half of the officers or rioters, including Ryder, were down. She took the chance to run out of the phonebooth and back to the apartment as fast as she could.


	21. Hey Beck & Don't Let Me Down

Robbie sat perched on the roof of his taxi waiting patiently for Beck to arrive. Robbie had come back to the States a month ago. With the help of his medication, he could remain calm enough to be in public. He even landed a job as a taxi driver. He took the day off to pick up Beck and to help his friends with a performance on the roof of the building Jade used to work at. It had been recently closed down thanks to a protest and tons of homemade bombs discovered by police. Jade had become depressed without Beck with her, so the two boys secretly arranged for Beck to come back and surprise Jade at the rally.

_"Hey Beck,"_ he sang, _"Don't let me down. Sing a sad song and make it better. Remember to let her into your heart. Then you can start to make it better. Hey Beck, don't be afraid. You were made to go out and get her. Remember to let her under your skin. Then you begin to make it better. Anytime you feel the pain, hey Beck, refrain. Don't carry the world upon your shoulders. Well, you know that it's a fool who plays it cool by making it a little colder. Na na na na na, na na na na. Hey Beck, don't let me down. You have found her, now go and get her. Let it out to let it in. Remember to let her into your heart. Then you can start to make it better, better, better, better, better, better- OW!"_

He looked up to see Beck making his way toward him while humming to himself. He slid onto the hood of his car and grabbed the gate in front of it. _"BECK! HEY BECK, HEY, BECK, HEY BECK, HEY BECK, HEY BECK, HEY BECK! HEY!"_

"Robbie!" Beck called out. Robbie jumped onto the ground. He ran up to his best friend and hugged him tight. He threw his bags into the trunk and they made their way down to the building. They turned on the radio to hear Trina.

"We're late," Robbie groaned, but they decided to turned it up and listened to Trina anyway.

_"Don't let me down  
Don't let me down  
Don't let me down  
Don't let me down_

Nobody ever loved me like he does  
Ooh he does, yes he does  
And if somebody loved me like she do me  
Ooh she do me, yeah she does

Don't let me down  
Don't let me down  
Don't let me down  
Don't let me down

Oh i'm in love for the first time  
Don't you know it's gonna last  
It's the love that lasts forever  
It's the love that had no past

Don't let me down  
Don't let me down  
Don't let me down  
Don't let me down

Don't let me down  
Don't let me down

Yeahhhhh

Don't let me down  
Baby baby don't you let me down  
Don't let me down  
Don't you let me down  
don't you let me down  
Oh no no no  
Don't let me down  
don't you let me down  
Oh no no no  
never never..."


	22. All You Need Is Love

Beck and Robbie parked a few blocks away and snuck into the building from the back when they saw the front being blockaded by police officers and a huge crowd in front of them. When they reached the top, Robbie and Cat ran right into each other's arms. Beck saw Trina and Andrè too, but no Jade yet. Confused, he turned and looked to see if she was making her way up from the back of the building as well.

"Police!" he heard a few officers bark. "Get off of here or else you're under arrest!"

"What?" Trina shouted.

"Are you kidding me, man?" Andrè complained.

"Eek!" Cat and Robbie squeaked. Beck hid. He could hear his friends' protests as they were forced off of the roof. He was fortunate that he wasn't found by the officers. However, there was still no Jade. He needed to find her. Beck walked up to the open microphone and took a deep breath.

_"There's nothing you can do that can't be done,"_ he sang. _"Nothing you can sing that can't be sung. Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game. It's easy... There's nothing you can make that can't be made. No one you can save that can't be saved. Nothing you can do, but you can learn how to be you in time. It's easy..."_ Behind him, he heard his friends arguing with police officers, begging them to let the group stay on the rooftop.

_"All you need it love,"_ Beck continued. _"All you need is love. All you need is love, love. Love is all you need."_

_"Love, love, love,"_ Cat and Trina sang to the officers while Andrè and Robbie grabbed instruments. _"Love, love, love."_ The police begrudgingly accepted it. The two girls skipped over to their friends and joined them.

_"There's nothing you can know that can't be known,"_ Beck continued. _"Nothing you can see that isn't shown. No where you can be that isn't where you're meant to be. It's easy..."_

_"All you need is love!" _Cat and Trina sang. _"All you need is love. All you need is love, love. Love is all you need."_ As they continued singing those lines, Beck looked up at the building across the street. Standing on the roof, with a big smile and lovesick look on her face, was Jade.


End file.
